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NEWS
Observations: Airbags for Helicopters
by A. Yechiel
RAFAEL, the IDF military equipment manufacturer, is
developing a system of large airbags designed to protect
helicopter passengers and crew members during collisions
and crash landings or rough landings. Since the
helicopter tragedy of 1997 in which 73 soldiers were
killed, scientists, primarily aeronautical engineers,
have been working hard to find a way to protect the
lives of helicopter passengers in the event of a
mishap.
The invention -- a system of folded airbags located
inside special cargo holds on the underside of the
passenger compartment at points that absorb the greatest
impact -- is currently in the testing phase. The system
is engaged by sensors designed to detect when the
helicopter is approaching the ground too rapidly, and to
activate airbags which inflate within a fraction of a
second using compressed air, just like airbags installed
in cars. According to initial estimates, the invention
can prevent injury and death in almost every type of
crash (with the exception of midair explosions), but in
order for the airbags to serve their function, pilots
must keep the helicopter parallel to the ground.
RAFAEL says the new system is still in the development
stage and it will be a long time before it can be sold
to helicopter manufacturers and operators. One of the
central problems the developers have encountered is that
the system loads additional weight onto the helicopter,
a type of aircraft that is particularly sensitive to
surplus weight.
Four months ago a secret and unconventional test was
performed to check the results of the new helicopter
airbags: an obsolete helicopter carrying dummies was
released in midair and, an instant before the expected
crash, the airbags inflated and absorbed the shock. The
conclusion was that had real people been aboard, they
would not have been injured.
The scientists called the test results "encouraging" and
a second test is being planned for the near future, this
time using a Yas'ur model, one of the biggest
helicopters in the world.
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